Diagnosed late last year with osteosarcoma, a form of childhood bone cancer that strikes in the early teen years, Emorie has dealt with hair loss, pain, chemo treatments and most recently, complicated surgery that took the better part of a day to remove the tumor on her leg bone—she just returned home from a stay at UNC Chapel Hill. Of course, mom Julie was with her all the way—the long day of surgery and waiting was excruciating.
With Emorie’s love of horses and the TROT therapeutic riding program at FENCE, there’s hope that she’ll be back in the saddle soon. Benefits over the past months have been held at Fatz Cafe in Spartanburg and Elmo’s in Tryon  to help defray some of the costs, and Locks of Love helped her with hair to replace what she lost during chemo. Constant support and love have helped the family deal with the crisis.
If you’d like to help with Emorie’s medical and other expenses or send her a card, the mailing address is Julie Foster Collins, c/o Emorie Whitman; 1622 Butter Street, Landrum, S.C. 29356.